Theater teacher departs with thousands of memories

JIM RYDBOM/jrydbom@greeleytribune.com
Greeley Central theater teacher Mark Kolokoff talks to the audience during a dress rehearsal of the play "The King and I" last week. Kolokoff will retire at the end of the school year after nearly 30 years of teaching.

JIM RYDBOM/jrydbom@greeleytribune.com
Greeley Central theater teacher Mark Kolokoff talks with his students as they prepare for rehearsal for the play " The King and I" last week. Kolokoff will be retiring after nearly 30 years of teaching.

JIM RYDBOM/jrydbom@greeleytribune.com
Greeley Central theater teacher Mark Kolokoff talks with members of the cast of the play "The King and I" during a dress rehearsal last week. This will be Kolokoff's last play after retiring from 26 years of teaching.

To go

Greeley Central High School, 1515 14th Ave., will present Rodgers and Hammerstein’s “The King and I” at 7:30 p.m. Thursday-Saturday in the auditorium.

The musical is about the relationship between a British school teacher and the King of Siam.

It includes the songs “Getting to Know You” and “Shall We Dance.”

Advance tickets are $5 for students and $6 for adults; at the door they are $6 for students and $7 for adults. To purchase tickets call (970) 348-5093.

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There are no favorite plays. There are no favorite scenes. There are no favorite roles.

For Mark Kolokoff , 54, there are only thousands of students during the past 26 years who have brought dozens of plays to life and kept the Greeley Central English and theater teacher excited to go to work each morning.

“It has been a fantastic run, an incredible time,” said Kolokoff while sitting on the stage of his last production, “The King and I.” “I am a blessed human being able to go to work every day and engage in something I am passionate about.”

The memories are bittersweet, however, as he heads into this weekend’s performance.

When the school year ends, Kolokoff will retire from Greeley-Evans School District 6 and join his wife Jeannette Kolokoff in Midland, Texas, where she took over as the Midland-Odessa Symphony Orchestra & Chorale administrative executive director in November.

He hopes to mentor a new group of teenagers.

“I am retiring from District 6, but I am not retiring from teaching or the theater,” he said. “We agreed that when she finally got that job where she really wanted that challenge, we would make the decision to move on and look for new opportunities.”

Hannah Esparza-Escobar, a senior who plays the lead role of Anna Leonowens, said she was grateful to have worked with Kolokoff all four years she’s been at Central.

“At first, he absolutely terrified me,” she said. “He had a reputation of being (hard) — really, really, strict. But he proved to be a down-to-earth guy who is really driven and cares so much for students and people who work with him.”

He won’t pick a favorite or a least-favorite show because he doesn’t want former students to think he didn’t care for them or their performances, but there are a few that stand out for personal reasons.

“The Death and Life of Larry Benson,” he said took the students to a new level when they performed in front of 3,000 people at a conference.

“Children of Eden,” he said was leap of faith.

“It was such a massive show,” he said. “Just the magnitude of it all, telling the first nine books of the Bible, it really pushed my creativity.”

That trait did not surprise Hannah, who said Kolokoff taught her to never back down from a challenge.

“He taught me that nothing is ever difficult,” she said. “It will be sad.”

Kolokoff said he could have never done any of it without the amazing teachers and administrators supporting him over the years.

“I have worked with some of the best people you could ask for,” he said about his colleagues. “I have dealt with immensely talented students — talented, dedicated and passionate — a fantastic group of young people. It’s been a special journey. When I think about some of the people who have come through here, I don’t go with a sad heart.”

Sherrie Peif covers education for The Tribune. If you have an idea for a feature, contact Sherrie at (970) 392-5632, by email at speif@greeleytribune.com. Follow her on twitter @dawgsmom4.